Chandrasekharam, the spiritual actor

 There are many mono actors and actors who played multiple roles on the stage. But it was only Mydula Chandrasekharam who added spiritual values to acting.

Chandrasekharam, popularly called the 'fun doctor' by his fans, lived on the stage for over seven decades in the roles of Indira Gandhi, Shakespeare, Bernard Shaw,  Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru,  Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad and the like. He selected over ninety eminent personalities to imitate and lived in them.

 He was born in a middle class Maharashtra Brahmin family at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh on 10th November 1904. His fore father migrated to Nellore  long ago. He was the second son of Sri Subba Rao and Smt. Seetha Bai. He evinced keen interest in acting right from his school days. He and his friends used to play small skits at the backyard of their house for the benefit of their family friends.

 Young Chandrasekharam had given his first stage performance  in a Telugu mythological play in 1924. Between 1925 -1929 he  portrayed many female lead roles in Shakespearean plays like King Lear, Merchant of Venice, Macbeth and Othello. His perfect diction in English plays were adopted by many later Shakespearean  actors.

The Fun Doctor as Gandhiji

 He established a Drama Academy in 1936 to help amateur  groups in selection of plays, makeup, costumes and stage arrangements (Later changed as Sri Sakuntala Drama Academy). He had successfully switched over to mono acting which minimized his dependence on others.  His expertise in quick change of makeup earned him laurels. He gave hundreds of performances throughout India, even in remotest villages.

 As a play wright he penned many short, humorous skits. He  also wrote books on portrait makeup, maintaining a traveling theatre, the art of mono acting and self realization.  He experimented in portrait makeup, with least support either from the government or private bodies.

 He was the founder editor of Ranga Jyothi, a bilingual monthly magazine in English and Telugu. He visited China in 1953 as an actor and toured in Russia in 1967 as a makeup artiste.

 He gave scores of programs and every one of them was memorable. One is surprised to know that most of his programs were given on the back tray of a lorry. His entire baggage was a suit-case which contained his makeup kit and costumes.

The Fun Doctor as Zakir Hussain

 When he imitated a celebrity he literally lived in that person. Once he was mistaken for Zakir Hussain, the 3rd president of Indian Republic. He went to Vauhini Studios in Madras in the make up of Zakir Hussain. The staff of the studio were shocked at the unannounced visit of the president, that too with least security. Then  Chandrasekharam introduced himself as the fun doctor, with a smile much to the relief of the staff of the studio.

 On an unforgettable day, Tanguturi Prakasam's scheduled public meeting in Vijayawada was delayed by half an hour. Then Chandrasekharam appeared on the stage with Prakasam's makeup and cheered the audience. The real Prakasam arrived on the stage just after the fun doctor left and it took no time for the audience to learn that it was Chandrasekharam who first appeared on the dais.

 Chandrasekharam nonplused the vice president B.D. Jatti on an occasion. Just a few minutes before the arrival of Jatti, the fun doctor in the makeup of Jatti occupied a seat on the stage. jatti was shocked to see the like of him on the dais. When the fun doctor introduced himself as an actor of multiple roles, Jatti was pleased and hugged him.

 The secret of  success of Chandrasekharam as the actor of multiple roles is his innate talent to enter into the psyche of the person whom he portrays. It is a rare gift of God, because sometimes the like is mistaken for the real. Once an imitation contest of Charlie chaplin was held in London. Charlie chaplin himself participated in the contest in the guise of an imitator. He was awarded second prize for his imitating talent! That means that the like is more than the real. This applies to Chandrasekharam who imbibed more than the psyche of the person he imitated.

 When he was a youth, he was inspired by the discourses of Karim Baba of Nagpur, a disciple of Tajuddin Baba. He also learnt some secrets of yoga from the Baba which enabled him to spiritualize his acting talents.

  The sage of an actor, who did not have a penny to call his own asset, breathed his last at the ripe old age of 93 in Madras, at the house of his elder daughter-in-law Janaki Sishtla, the play back singer.